The 5 Cornerstones of Small Business Marketing

A terrific service or product isn’t enough to ensure the survival of a business. Marketing is the only way that anyone will ever know about that terrific new item your small business start-up offers. Although marketing might seem like a significant expenditure for a small business with a limited budget, smart marketing techniques are worth their weight in gold regarding return on investment. Consider the following cornerstones of small business marketing:

1. Research, and then research again

Business trends change and marketing techniques must be adjusted to accommodate new industry developments. Spending marketing dollars wisely requires that you remain aware of popular marketing techniques. A small business must find out where to find its customers or clients and market appropriately. This might mean implementing an aggressive social media campaign or putting an emphasis on traditional marketing in print or television.

2. Build the brand

Customers remain incredibly loyal to brands they trust, and a small business must start building its reputation immediately upon opening its doors. This might mean building visibility at a local event such as a charity run by offering shopping bags  to current and potential customers. These bags can be imprinted with your company’s logo and brand message for optimal exposure. Custom grocery bags also provide brand reinforcement because everyone reuses bags and your company’s logo will be front-and-center each time a bag is reused.

3. Offer incentives

Promotional products are incredibly effective for attracting notice for a new business, and building customer loyalty often begins with giveaways, coupons and incentives. Creating a loyalty program that rewards purchases is a terrific way to encourage repeat customers.

4. Examine the results regularly

“Implementing a multi-faceted marketing campaign certainly enhances potential profits, but continued attention paid toward marketing is necessary” – says Mark (marketing manager of a popular guest posting service firm). The techniques popular this year might be out-of-sync with customers next year.

5. Send a consistent message

Updating your company’s marketing plan on occasion is essential, but a company shouldn’t jump the track and head in a completely different direction either. One of the reasons a consistent message is necessary is because online marketing strategies respond well to consistency in things like brand name. Building a following on Twitter or Facebook is impossible if a business rebrands itself every year.

A small business must budget carefully to afford a healthy marketing push. With careful research and continuous refinement, any new business can grow and reinforce their brand with new and existing customers.